Cowlitz Lewis County, Washington

Mapped Location

Cowlitz: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on Cowlitz

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Cowlitz

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
Cowlitz Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Cowlitz

References to Cowlitz that document the origin of its place name

Title Cover Image: Origin of Washington geographic names

COWLITZ RIVER. Of all the geographic uses of the word Cowlitz, the name of the river is oldest and most important. Lewis and Clark, 1803-1806, say the Indians called the river "Coweliske." (Journal, Coues Edition, Volume II., page 698.) Subsequent writers made various attempts at spelling. Dr. W. Fraser Tolmie, 1833, wrote it "Tawallitch." (Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume III., page 233.) The word is said to mean "capturing the medicine spirit," from the fact that the young Indians of the tribe were sent to a small prairie to commune with the spirits to get "medicine" or "power." (Henry C. Sicade to John L. Harris, in Names MSS., Letter 483.) The River's early importance was its use as a highway between the Columbia River and Puget Sound.

Edmond S. Meany in Origin of Washington Geographic Names
Meany, Edmond S., Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 1923 University of Washington, pp 59-60  |  Origin of Washington Geographic Names

 

Lewis County

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2017-06-28